History

Grøtøy handelssted (trading post) in Steigen was established in 1690 and was the largest centre of commerce in Nordland up to 1923 when it went bankrupt (see link below for more information Grøtøy Old Trading Post).

In 1908 - Villa Haugen was built for Arne Schøning and his family. When in 1912 he took over as the new head of Grøtøy trading post and moved into the main building – his mother Arentine Schøning moved into Villa Haugen. She lived in the house until she died in 1941. During World War II Villa Haugen was used as rescue center for an orphanage from Narvik.

After the war in 1948 – Villa Haugen was sold, taken down and reused during the reconstruction of the Troms County. Some say that you can still see the old house and all its grandeur somewhere in the Troms County – while other say it was used to rebuild several new buildings.

Anyway, for 50 years only the foundation of Villa Haugen could be seen at Grøtøy – until 1998 when the house was rebuild based on the original architect drawings found in the National Archives of Norway. Villa Haugen has been the property of the current owners’ since January 2014

Since then – the property has undergone an upgrading in order to bring about its former grandeur and to turn it into a boutique hotel. For instance - a new old style kitchen have been put in as well as two new bathrooms. Even if much of the existing interior has been kept – some new pieces have been included in order to give the guests that “glamorous” feeling of the 1920’s. In addition – the gazebo/pavilion has been upgraded with new windows, a new sauna house, hot tub and a quay side has been integrated with the existing boathouse – all to give our guests a best possible view and experience of the surroundings and the Lofoten archipelago.